The Riajuu Lifestyle was more Complicated than I Expected
by BoringBone
Summary: Riajuu: a person living the good life, someone who reached the pinnacle of happiness. Riajuus, according to Hikigaya Hachiman, should just explode. But when a bystander films Hachiman rescuing a dog from an oncoming car, and the video becomes an internet hit overnight, will he still harbour the same resentment towards Riajuus when society starts seeing him as one?
1. Chapter 1

**The Riajuu Lifestyle was more Complicated than I Expected**

 ** _BoringBone_**

* * *

A majority of human behaviour is driven by impulse, and impulse is driven by subconscious desire, and subconscious desire is driven by the individual. So in the end, impulse comes from the individual themselves.

So when I dove out of the safe boundary of the sidewalk to save that dog from a speeding car, I thought to myself, "Hachiman, you only have yourself to blame."

I covered the dog with my body and shielded it with my back, the transfer of energy sending me rolling several feet away. A rush of adrenaline numbed the pain, but not all of it. I was on the verge of consciousness and the anesthetized pain kept me conscious long enough to see a girl running up to me while saying, "I'm sorry," over and over again. Behind her was a boy my age with a phone in his hands. I stared into its camera lens.

There was a voice. A touch on my hand. And then I passed out.

...

I woke up to the sight of my darling imouto, Komachi, sitting on a stool beside my bed. On her lap was a lunch container filled with apple peelings. In her hands were a partially peeled apple and a knife with a wide blade.

"Komachi, be careful with that knife," I mumbled deliriously.

"Onii-chan, you're awake," she exclaimed, almost dropping the knife.

"I told you to be careful."

She placed the knife and everything else on the bedside table and pulled me into a tight hug.

"You got me really worried. I don't know what I'd do if you never woke up." She nestled her head on the crevice between my neck and shoulder. "Oh, that's worth a lot of Komachi points."

She used the landline phone beside my bed and called for assistance. After a minute or two, a doctor and a group of nurses came by to run some tests on me. The doctor declared my good health.

"Don't worry, we'll take good care of him during his stay here," he told Komachi, who asked many questions about my well-being.

I thanked the doctor for his hard work and he said, "I'm just glad you turned out alright."

"We called your parents and they will arrive shortly. Now, if you will excuse me."

Komachi and I bowed to the medical team as they cleared out. Once we were alone again, she resumed hugging me, this time with a tight grip that compressed my rib cage. She loosened her grip when I started wheezing.

Once I composed myself, she leaned her head on my shoulder and whispered, "You really had me worried."

"It's not the first accident I ever had. And it's not like it was serious—there are worse things that can happen."

"I can't imagine anything that could top a car accident."

"How about a plane crash, or a shark attack, or getting hit by lightning?"

"Don't be silly, Onii-chan," she said.

We were quiet for a while until Komachi spoke up again. She said, "You know, things like plane crashes and shark attacks and getting hit by lightning are practically statistical impossibilities, especially for normal Japanese citizens like us. But automobile related deaths are definitely a legitimate danger, you know. I don't know the stats and all, but I bet you there's a way higher death total with car accidents than plane crashes and shark attacks and getting hit by lightning, that I know for sure."

"Well, what matters is that none of that stuff happened," I said.

"Yeah, if you were going to make me worry then the least you could do was actually die. I invested a large sum of pity on you. What a waste."

"Hey, pity is not something you can measure like money."

"Of course. An imouto's feelings are immeasurable. Oh, that one's definitely worth a lot of Komachi points."

My parents came shortly after. They expressed the same concerns Komachi had, with my mother babying me and my father lecturing me from the side about having foresight and being more careful, and all that. They spent a few hours with me until the end of visiting hours, just keeping me company and trying to cheer me up. My parents left me a change of clothes and some snacks, and Komachi gave me one last hug before they left. The whole incident made her more touchy feely than usual, I noticed.

It was a little bit before midnight when I rang up a nurse and asked for a sleeping pill. It was hard enough to sleep in a new environment but I also had a lot of worries and stray thoughts. I would've stayed up all night without some medical aid.

Before I fell asleep, I thought about school and the days I missed. I imagined how awkward my first day would turn out with me showing up out of nowhere. I'd be an unknown factor invading an already solidifying classroom ecosystem.

The pill was effective, but my worrying recurred in the cycles of R.E.M. sleep.

...

The next day, Komachi came by to visit around four thirty p.m. She rushed over to my side, knocking over some poor nurse who was in the way. She held her phone an inch from my face while saying, "Look, Onii-chan, look."

I gave the nurse an apologetic look before taking Komachi's phone to pacify her. She had a video paused halfway, and from the title captions I already had a good idea what it was about, but I watched it anyways because Komachi's insistence.

Displayed on the screen was me, although I was not used to seeing myself covered in pixels and I was certainly not used to seeing myself dash to my impending doom for the sake of another, even more so when it was for the sake of a dog. Although I did not feel like it from my perspective, the act looked quite heroic in the video, with the damsel in distress—who was not in the shot—yelling in the background, with me leaping in without hesitation, shielding the dog, and still managing to look tough as I was sent flying. The video ended with the camera man rushing over to my body sprawled on the ground.

"This video reached the one hundred thousand mark when it was uploaded yesterday. The uploader explained in the description that he only just recieved permission to upload it from our parents, hence the delay," she said.

I stared at the last shot of my comatose body. "Our parents actually gave the guy permission?"

"You don't have to sound so bitter. They did it for your sake."

"Which means?"

"Which means they're hoping the video will give you a bit of a boost in, you know, making friends and all. They know how much school you missed, and you being the Hachiman you are they know that you'd have a tough time making friends if you came in a week late."

"Don't say Hachiman in that context."

"Oh, and which context would you prefer?" She waggled her eyebrows.

"You shouldn't tease your onni-chan like that," I said.

"An onni-chan's job is to be teased by his imouto."

We spent the afternoon watching game shows on the courtesy T.V. but the old man sharing the room with me complained about the noise. Komachi and I resorted to chatting about her new school life, about her friends, and other such nonsense.

...

After my last examination, the doctor shook my hand and congratulated me on my recovery. "Good work, Hachiman-kun," he said.

He was a friendly doctor who called all his patients by their first names. He was a tall man with black hair that sported a couple of greying streaks, and he spoke with exuberance and confidence. He had bags under his eyes.

"I should be saying that to you. You're the one who did all the work," I said.

He patted me on the shoulder. "Nonsense. It is my duty as a doctor to assist brave young men like you in any way I can. In fact, between you and me, I gave your parents a big discount on the hospital fees. All out of my paycheck, of course."

"That's too much," I said.

"Again, nonsense. I saw that video. There was no hesitation in your eyes when you saved that girl's dog. You're a true man, Hachiman-kun. I bet all the ladies just can't get enough of you."

I did not reply.

A nurse came by and whispered something to his ear. He nodded to her and turned to me with an apologetic smile. "Sorry about this, but I have to go now. You're an interesting young man, Hachiman-kun, in fact, I'd like to see you once more." He snapped his fingers as his eyes lit up. "Ah, that's a great idea. What would you say, Hikigaya-kun, if I invited you and your family for dinner with me and my family?"

I was overwhelmed by his overtness. "Excuse me?"

He took a step back and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, I don't normally involve myself in the lives of my patients more than I have to. If you're feeling uncomfortable then I apologize."

"Ah, no, I just got caught off guard, I guess," I said.

"If that's the case then give my invitation some thought."

We exchanged numbers and I promised to tell my parents about his idea and to make myself free for the next couple of weeks. A had little to no desire to actually go through with his plans but I played along since he worked hard for my speedy recovery and helped my parents with the hospital bills, with his own money no less.

"Take care, Hikigaya-kun," he said.

I bowed. "Thank you, Miura-sensei."

There was a cool breeze outside and I basked in it, letting it wash away the hospital smell off my clothes. My father saw me and jogged over, reprimanding me for exerting myself. I told him that I felt fine enough to move and that being stationary would do me more harm than good.

He told me to wait as he jogged back to the parking lot and drove the car over. Komachi and my mother were inside.

"We're going out for dinner to celebrate your recovery, Onii-chan. Where would you like to go?" she said, when I slid beside her.

"We don't have to go out and do anything extravagant," I said.

My mother peeked at us from the shotgun seat. "Don't be so reserved. We can go wherever you want. We have some—unexpected room in our budget to afford it. Isn't that right dear?"

"Yup," father said.

I thought about it for a bit as I fastened my seat belt.

"How about Saize?" I said.

"Why Saize?!" they chorused.

...

I was so content with lazing around in the hospital and playing with Komachi that I almost forgot about school. So when the big day arrived, I was not emotionally prepared.

I stood in front of my classmates with an expression I believed to be neutral, maybe even pleasant. My back was straight and not hunched like usual. I presented myself as someone confident, but not overly so. As someone approachable but not too approachable so maybe you should respect his personal space—that kind of look.

But of course, such a vague concept was impossible to portray with body language alone. I ended up standing awkwardly straight in a ninety degree angle. Even my ahoge was congruent to my body posture and stood in alarm like an exclamation mark hovering over my head.

"This here is Hachiman Hikigaya-kun. Due to certain circumstances he had to miss the first week of school, but despite this I hope you will all welcome him as if he had been here all along."

The language teacher, Hiratsuka Shizuka-sensei, was an attractive woman who appeared to be in her late twenties or early thirties, a woman who I was surprised to hear was still not married despite her looks and age. I exercised some tact and did not voice my casual observations

Hiratsuka-sensei had given no indication that she had seen the video when I brought it up on our way to class.

"Huh? Are you some internet star or something?" she had said.

This led me to believe that the video had not gone as viral as I predicted. No one would hail me like some sort of hero. They would treat me like my middle school classmates treated me. Which was fine, acceptable, even, since their world was different from mine, located in a realm I can never traverse. This was the boundary Hikigaya Hachiman can never cross, heroic act or not. Or so I thought.

A little bit after Hiratsuka-sensei's introduction and exactly during the moment I broke out of my forced body posture and started writing my name on the black board, a sudden cry of, "Guys, it's definitely him. I can tell from the back because I've seen more of it than his face," came from a guy with an overly enthusiastic voice.

I resisted the urge to turn around and resumed writing my name.

"Are you sure Tobe? He doesn't really seem like—well, you know, the heroic type."

It was a female voice that time, one that sounded haughty, the type of woman I avoided at all costs.

"No trust me, Miura-san, it's definitely him. As one of the eyewitnesses I can give you a one hundred percent accurate answer."

"Actually, eyewitnesses tend to falsify their information unintentionally due to the shock and other factors like trauma. Ah, not that I'm doubting you, Tobe, I am merely stating the facts," a new male voice, a confident, projected voice that could only belong to a riajuu, said.

I slowed my task to stall for time as I thought formulated escape plans. I wrote the characters to my last name in a painfully slow pace, so slow that Hiratsuka-sensei discretely checked her watch and not so discretely tapped her foot on the floor. Hurry up, she mouthed.

"Why's he writing so slowly?" Haughty female said.

"Perhaps he's still injured?" Riajuu said.

"Ah, maybe he still has P.S.T.D. from the whole incident, and he's having scary flashbacks now or something," Tobe said.

"I think you meant P.T.S.D.," Riajuu said.

"You know what, why don't just ask the other eyewitness?" the haughty female said.

"Eh, me?" It was a new feminine voice. One that sounded familiar.

I hurriedly finished the last characters for Hachiman before turning around. It was not too hard to associate the voices with the faces. The riajuu was the best looking guy in the class, and so was the haughty voiced girl, and Tobe was the guy who was bouncing in his seat excitedly.

Tobe got up from his seat despite Hiratsuka-sensei's admonishments. He walked up to a girl who looked very familiar. She looked at him, at her classmates looking at her expectantly, and then at me.

I picked her out in my hazy memories of the car accident. I vaguely recalled a trendy girl, one with short hair tied up in a bun. I made the connection.

"E-Eh? Why me?" she said, while raising her hands in defense.

"Oh, don't be shy, Yuigahama-san," Tobe said. "It's definitely him, right?"

She glanced my way and our eyes met. I looked away.

"Yeah, it's definitely him," she said. "Those eyes are very—well, I'll say 'distinctive'."

I hated the unknown. And this new development, with my classmates looking at me with something like awe, with Tobe making a remark about my 'P.S.T.D. looking' eyes, with Hiratsuka-sensei saying, "So you're an internet star after all?"…all of it was unknown to me and I hated it.

Still, I took a small step forward. I coughed into my hand and ducked my head, ignoring all the eyes.

"My name is Hikigaya Hachiman. I hope we all get along."

* * *

 **Chapter 1 END**

 **The boundary Hikigaya Hachiman can never cross**

* * *

 _A/N_

 _Well, I've been thinking about submitting something for this site and here it is! I love the Oregairu series and I love experimenting with 'what-if' scenarios so I'll have a lot of fun with this story, and I hope you will too._

 _I'll try to upload as soon as I can. At most you'll see an update every couple of days, although if I were being realistic I'd say weekly updates are more reasonable, and if I was being pessimistic I'd say once a month. Thankfully I'm much more optimistic than 8man here so expect to see me at least once a week._

 _That's it for me. Please review, it will make my day and it'll be nice to hear your thoughts._

 _Later! Expect an update soon!_


	2. Chapter 2

**The Riajuu Lifestyle was more Complicated than I Expected**

 _BoringBone_

 _(Edit: I had to delete my initial upload because I used the wrong file. This is the real upload. Sorry for those who read the first one)_

* * *

People spread rumours because they have nothing else to talk about. They fill the gaps in conversation with talk about other people's lives because deep down they know how boring and idle their own lives are. Idleness breeds boredom, and boredom breeds stupidity.

Hiratsuka-sensei knew that her students were barely paying attention to the lecture so she tried to liven up her presentation by alluding to shounen manga, of all things. But her efforts proved ineffective as the ambient noise drowned out her voice.

Among the people glancing my way and partaking in the rumour mill was the instigator of these recent developments, Tobe. He whispered noisily to a seatmate, retelling a heavily exaggerated version of the car accident complete with hand motions and ridiculous onomatopoeia. "And there was a boom and a crash and an ugh."

Yuigahama-san, the other eyewitness beside Tobe, was silent unlike her counterpart, keeping to herself despite urgings from her classmates.

The class ended for a break and Hiratsuka-sensei left the room while muttering to herself and fishing out what appeared to be a cigar and a lighter out of her coat. I stood to escape, but I was immediately swarmed with people and bombarded with questions. Why'd you do it? Did it hurt? Are you okay? Why are you attending classes so soon after the accident?

There was a cough and the class went silent. The crowd parted to reveal the girl I identified earlier as the haughty voiced girl. She was, without a doubt, the most attractive girl in the class and she used that quality to establish herself as the undisputed queen bee in only a week of school, an accomplishment that was as impressive as it was intimidating. She presented herself as someone of regal status: chest outwards, shoulders straight, eyes piercing and looking down at whoever she spoke to, which was me at the time.

"So you're really him, the guy from the video," she said.

"Yeah, I suppose."

I couldn't really deny it at this point.

"Hmm, it's funny," she said. "You looked way more impressive in the video."

"I-Is that so?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "But who am I to judge?"

I couldn't reply to those cryptic words.

"Say, your name sounds familiar," she said. "I think I've heard my dad mention it once or twice. Does the name Miura sound familiar to you?"

"The doctor who treated my injuries went by the name Miura."

She smiled. "Small world. I'm his daughter, Miura Yumiko. Nice to meet you."

"L-Likewise."

"I hope we can get along."

And with that she left the room. A bunch of other girls followed her.

And with her gone, the inquisition resumed.

I tried my best to answer their questions but I was soon overwhelmed. I excused myself, saying I had to go the bathroom. Thankfully, they had enough decency to respect my privacy. I went out and wandered the hallways, aimlessly looking around for it. I found one, and it lacked the strange stench that seemed to permeate all public bathrooms, an unexpected benefit. I washed my face with tap water, pooling it in my hands and splashing it on my face. I looked at the mirror. Those eyes people likened to a dead fish's stared back at me.

"Oh, you're here."

I turned and saw the Riajuu leaning on the closed bathroom door. The lighting was scarce so most of his face was hidden by shadows, but I identified him by his distinctive, dyed hair.

I put on my best smile. "How can I help you?" I kept my voice from stuttering somehow.

He stepped closer and his face was illuminated by the fluorescent light fixture above. He had a friendly expression and a smile that seemed pleasant, maybe even sincere. He offered me a hand. I dried my hands with a paper towel and shook his hand. His grip was firm. "My name is Hayama Hayato," he said.

"Nice to meet you, Hayama-san."

"Don't be so polite," he said.

"Hayama, then?"

I did not mean to make it sound like a question.

I was the first to release my hand. I turned away from him.

"Hm, this sort of life is harder than it looks, Hikigaya-kun."

"What do you mean by that?"

He laughed. "Oh, nothing, I'm just mumbling to myself. Again, nice to meet you."

He backed away from the illuminated area, his face once again indiscernible.

What a shady guy, I thought.

…

I returned in time for Math class. There were two desks between mine and his so I could see his back profile during the lecture. He had an annoyingly straight posture even while the two folks behind him were slouched over from boredom, myself included. Hayama wrote down a few notes occasionally, but not too often. His breathing was even and level, and he let his eyes wander around the class and, when he made eye-contact with someone, he'd give them a bright smile and a slight nod in greeting. His movements, to me, seemed calculated and practiced. There was a purpose and intention for his every action.

When the class ended for lunch break, I prepared myself for the swarm of bodies, but to my surprise, none came. The reason made itself known to me in the form of Miura Yumiko who halted the flow of traffic toward my desk with nothing but a wave of her hand. The curious students returned to their seats and the class settled into the usual lunch time atmosphere. A gentle buzz resounded across the room broken only by the occasional outbursts from energetic students, one of which was Tobe.

Miura dragged a nearby desk and joined it across from mine. She placed her bento onto her desk, grabbed a chair, and sat across from me. She smiled. "I hope you don't mind?"

"Not at all?"

"Oh, you don't seem certain. Hm, I suppose anyone would find my present actions overbearing. But what can I say, I'm curious about you." She glanced around at the crowd of overlooking students. "And not just because of the new fad that seems to be going around." There was a ringing sound. "Excuse me, that's my phone." She retrieved a smartphone decorated with a pink phone case and a mascot themed cellphone strap.

Hayama came and attached his own desk. "Hello," he greeted.

Without looking away from her phone, Miura said, "Hey, Hayato-kun."

Tobe arrived as well along with some other people I didn't recognize, a bunch of Riajuu wannabees auditioning for the popular clique, I supposed. I couldn't help but notice Yuihagama among those wannabees. Again, she looked away when I made eye contact with her. Another person who I noticed was watching was a bespectacled girl eating lunch alone. Unlike Yuigahama, she was not part of the groupies but was watching from a distance. She struck me as an odd girl, but she was undeniably an attractive person. It made me wonder why she was all alone.

The extras stayed standing while Hayama, Tobe, Miura, and—for some reason, me—were seated face to face in our little island of desks. It took several moments until I finally realized that yes, I was actually in a clique, the popular clique, at that, and not just among the branch company of wannabees. I was actually in the middle of it all, in the base of operations.

Miura finished texting and pocketed her phone away. "Sorry about that," she said. "Now, let's eat guys." She opened her bento which was full of feminine meals like those small sandwiches with exotic fillings like watercress melon and turkey and brie. There were a lot of fruits and veggies and she had a thermos filled with flagrant tea. The smell of apples wafted out when she lifted the lid.

"Your lunch looks tasty as always, Miura-san," Tobe said, as he took out curry bread, two of them, wrapped in plastic.

"Naturally," she said, and took a small bite of her sandwich.

Hayama had an ordinary bento box. He noticed me watching. "Oh, Hikigaya-san, where's your lunch?"

"I forgot mine at home," I said, testing his reaction. I actually lunch packed in my bag.

"Oh? Well, I'd offer to share mine with you but I have a slight cold and I would not want to infect you." He casually looked over to Miura. "I know, how about you ask Miura-san for some food. I'm sure she'd be glad to share?"

I glared at him. What are you up to, Hayama? I thought.

"Huh, what was that, Hayato-kun? And I told you to call me Yumiko."

"Ah, right, Yumiko."

What is up with Riajuus and their blatant use of the first name basis, I thought, have they no shame?

"Well," Hayama continued, "it seems that Hikigaya-kun here forgot his lunch and I suggested that you'd share some of yours."

She looked at me and then at her own lunch.

"I have nothing against you, Hikigaya-kun, but lunch is something of a sacred ritual for me. I can't share with you or anyone else."

She said that strange line in such a casual way.

"I have some more curry bread in my pockets if you want it," Tobe offered. He took out a curry bread that was all squished and damaged, the filling spilling inside the wrapping.

"No thanks," I said. "I think I'll just buy something at the cafeteria."

"Okay, the cafeteria in this school isn't the best taste-wise, but it's like super affordable," Miura said, sweetly. "Hayato-kun, why don't you accompany him? He's not familiar with our school grounds yet, after all."

Hayama stood from his chair. "Very well."

"Get me some more curry bread while you're at it," Tobe said.

And so I walked out with Hayama at my tail.

"I have something to ask you," I said.

"Yes?"

I stopped in my tracks. He did the same. I thought hard about what to ask him, but I threw caution to the winds and decided to ask bluntly.

"Why are you...'people'...having lunch with me?"

"That's...a strange thing to ask."

"Oh yeah, it is isn't it?"

I continued walking. He caught up and walked behind me at a slower pace.

"If anything, Miura's interested in you," he said, his voice almost inaudible.

"Because of the video?"

"Hm? What was that, Hikigaya-kun?"

"...nothing."

We continued walking in silence.

At the cafeteria, I bought some anpan, ignoring Hayama's complaints about my rather plain choice. It was cheap and it filled you up, that was enough for me. He bought some curry bread for Tobe.

When we made it back, Miura and Tobe were just as we left them, with Tobe ravenously consuming his curry bread and Miura chewing on her sandwich with utmost care and grace. There was one discrepancy though. Sitting beside Miura was Yuigahama.

When we took our seats, Hayama said, "Oh, what is Yuigahama-san doing here?"

"I asked her to share her version of events of the Hikigaya-kun incident. It's really hard for me to believe Tobe's, you know?"

"H-Hey," he said.

Yuigahama ducked her head when I looked at her.

"So far I think I can trust her version of the story. I must say, I am very impressed, Hikigaya-kun. That was very brave of you."

"Oh, thanks," I said.

"You have me intrigued. Tell me more about yourself, Hikigaya-kun."

"We got to know each other really well on our short trip to the cafeteria. Hikigaya-kun is certainly an interesting person," Hayama said.

What is this guy saying, I thought. We barely talked the whole time!

"Is that true?"

"Of course," he said.

She leaned across the table and grinned at me. She reminded me of an anaconda about to strike. "I was curious, then intrigued, but now I am fascinated."

"Is that so?"

"Okay, now I want to hear from you."

"Me?" I uselessly parroted.

"Of course. Tell me about yourself."

Hayama was about to say something but she shushed him. "Not you, Hayato-kun, you got your turn. Now, Hikigaya-kun, tell me, which middle school did you come from?"

I told her.

"Hm, I see. And what was it like, your middle school days, I mean?"

Hayama gave me a meaningful look.

"It was great. I miss my friends already," I said.

Hayama smiled and looked away.

"Yeah, same here. I still get in touch with them from time-to-time but it's not the same. But I'm starting to like this school." She rested her head on an open palm. "Do you feel the same, Hikigaya-kun?"

"I can't say since it's my first day here."

"Fair enough. Perhaps I'll ask you the same question some other time."

We resumed eating. Me with my anpan, Hayama with his bento, Tobe with the curry bread Hayama bought him, Miura with her sandwiches, and Yuigahama was fidgeting with her chopsticks, looking back and forth between her own food and Miura.

"Say, I'm a bit thirsty," Miura said. She looked towards Yuihagama. "In honour of our new friendship, would you please grab me a drink from the vending machine, Yuigahama-san?"

"E-Eh? But you have tea already?"

"Oh but I feel like drinking something cold. Please Yuigahama-san, we're friends, aren't we?"

"I-I'll get your drink right away," she said. She was all smiles as she ran out of the room.

I heard one of our classmates snicker. "Look at her running off into the hallways. It seems the dog has a lot in common with its master." They giggled among themselves.

Another clique caught on. "Yeah, but don't worry, we have our reliable hero right here." To my disbelief, he actually called out to me in a pleasant manner. "Isn't that right, Hikigaya-san? You'd save her if she stupidly tripped while running down the halls?"

"Yeah, but I'd feel sorry for Hikigaya-san if he got injured again because of that careless girl."

"I know right? Isn't that girl kind of unreliable?"

"And what's with her look? Is she trying to be trendy?"

Here it was. There was always a black sheep in every herd. Somehow it ended up being Yuigahama.

It was unfortunate. But it could have been anybody. To avoid conflict in an environment filled with egos, there must be one common enemy for all to hate. The hierarchical system of the classroom was a fragile thing. All it took was a tiny bit of friction and the whole thing will light ablaze. That's why it is necessary to have a common enemy, because there will be no infighting as long as this mutual target exists.

It really was unfortunate.

"Hey, what's with that nonsense you're all spouting, huh?"

Miura suddenly stood up, her seat rattling from abrupt movement.

"M-Miura-san?"

"Are you guy's deaf? You heard me when I called her my friend, right? So why are you trashing my friend in front of my face, huh?"

The target of her wrath squirmed in his seat. "No, Miura-san. It's just—you had her run errands for you..."

"So?"

"So I thought that it was okay to—"

She crossed her arms. "Oh, and who are you to think you're above that of an errand girl? Well, listen up, she's _my_ errand girl, okay?"

"Y-Yes, Miura-san." He laughed nervously.

At this point, the door slid open and Yuigahama came in with an armful of cans. "I got some for everyone since I was already there. Huh, what's wrong? Why's it so quiet in here?"

The ambient noise returned, although it was strained and forced, and the air was thick and hard to breathe. The guy that Miura roasted excused himself and walked out of the room. Already his clique had swiftly separated and integrated themselves into other cliques. They didn't even bother to look at each other as they separated.

Yuigahama handed the cans out to everyone. She hesitated slightly when handing me mine.

"H-Here you go," she mumbled.

"Thanks."

It was a can of black coffee.

"I prefer it sweet," I said, absentmindedly.

"Eh? O-Oh, sorry."

"No, sorry, I was just talking aloud to myself."

I pulled the tab on the can and took a sip. I forced myself to swallow it.

It was really bitter.

* * *

 **Chapter 2: END**

 **And so, the debut ends in a bitter note**

* * *

 _Hey guys, here I am with Chapter two_

 _I uploaded the wrong document earlier because of my clumsiness and bad luck. It was one of my rough drafts. I had to delete that chapter and re-upload this one, and I feel bad because there were at least ten people who read the failed upload. Sorry guys. My bad._

 _On another note, thank you for your reviews on chapter one. I enjoyed reading your suggestions, advice, critiques, encouragements, and Miura x Hachiman shipping. You guys are awesome._

 _I edited chapter one according to your suggestions and the spelling mistakes some of you pointed out. Thanks for the feedback, and keep it coming. If you see anything out of place, or any pesky spelling mistakes please let me know and I will address them right away._

 _There were some guest reviewers for chapter one, and I couldn't P.M. you guys so let me say my thanks here. Thank you for your comments and I hope you're enjoying the story so far._

 _So yeah, let me know what you guys think of this chapter and I will see you guys next week for the next upload!_

 _-BoringBone_


	3. Chapter 3

**The Riajuu Lifestyle was more Complicated than I Expected**

 _BoringBone_

...

We had P.E. after lunch which I was excused from on account of my recent injuries. Rather than have me laze around on the bleachers while watching my classmates run laps, I was given an early dismissal with instructions from the school nurse to head home and rest.

I had a few hours to spare so I sent Komachi a text telling her that I'd pick her up. Even though she was in the middle of class, she replied almost instantaneously. Okay, Onii-chan~, it read, along with some heart emoticons. I quickly pocketed my phone in fear of someone seeing it and thinking I was some sort of depraved sis-con.

The bus stop was a considerable distance from Komachi's school, but I had time to spare so I walked at a leisurely pace. I arrived just in time to hear the school bell ringing. As if on cue Komachi came running to me with her arms stretched outwards. "Onii-chan," she cried.

I caught her in my arms and contemplated twirling her around but I restrained myself since we were in a public place. I lowered her and said, "You're the first one out."

"Last one to arrive, first one to leave, that's Hikigaya Komachi."

"You're a disgrace to the family name."

"Geez, look at the hero acting like a hotshot. How was your first day of school, did you meet a lot of people?"

I noticed she restrained herself from saying 'did you make any friends?'

"I had lunch with some people," I said.

"That's great, tell me about it."

I started walking and she followed me. We were siblings so we were familiar with each other's pace. We walked side-by-side.

"Exhausting."

"I figured."

"Am I really that predictable?"

"You're like an NPC character. There's an alghorhytym in your actions."

"I think you meant to say algorithm."

"Whatever. I just learned that word today, okay?"

She pouted and looked away with a huff.

"Next time, check with me before you use a new word in conversation," I said.

"I already used it with my friends. They all giggled and looked at me funny. Now I know why."

"Komachi..."

"Relax. I'm not like you. I can say the dumbest things with no repercushions."

"Repercussions. And what makes you so sure of yourself?"

She stepped ahead, twirled, and winked.

"I can get away with anything 'coz I'm cute!"

I sighed. Even if she meant it as a joke, there was a profound truth in her statement.

"By the way, Onii-chan?"

"Hm?"

"Did you suddenly get popular all of a sudden?"

"What are you on about now?"

"Well, how do I say this, I noticed it a while ago but there's a girl following us right now, or more like I think she's following you."

"Are you mocking me?"

"No, I'm serious."

"Are you sure she's following me and not you? Maybe she's one of your friends."

"I don't know her and I'm pretty sure she's following us and not anyone else. So by process of elimination, that means she's following you."

"Oh, you actually got elimination right."

"It's because of that detective drama I'm watching recently. The main character always solves his cases using the 'process of elimination'."

"Of course it's something like that."

She knocked herself on the head gently with a balled up fist. "Tee-hee!"

"So this girl, where is she right now?"

"I lost track of her but she should be around."

I observed my surroundings. We were in a housing district near the school. I was originally wary of having Komachi study in that school since a lot of the students there already knew each other and grew up together in this housing district. That means the cliques were already solidified from childhood, leaving no room for newcomers. But my worries were unfounded as Komachi's cuteness and bubbly personality prevailed and earned her a group of friends in no time. She already invited some of those friends over during the first weeks of school, just a day after I was released from the hospital. One of them recognized me from the video and I had to play the part of the hero and live up to their expectations for Komachi's sake. Somehow I managed to fool them and one of them became enthralled with me. Was I happy? Of course not. Why would I be happy over the affection of a middle school girl?

Komachi latched onto my arm and her eyes darted about. "Onii-chan, seriously, who is that girl? I can feel her watching us. It's kind of creeping me out." She looked up at my face. "And why are you smiling like that? You're creeping me out too!"

I slipped my arm from her grasp. "I-I just remembered a funny joke. Anyways, I don't know who's following us right now. You saw her, right? What does she look like?"

"Hmm, she had short hair and it was tied up in a bun."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously."

I cupped my hands to the sides of my mouth and took a deep breath. "Heeey, Yuigahama-saaan? We know you're there."

There was a loud gasp and an indignant shriek coming from the direction of a parked S.U.V. When I peered closer, I saw the back of Yuigahama's head sticking out from behind the S.U.V.'s hood.

"It seems like you _do_ know her," Komachi said.

"I guess you can say that. Yuigahama-san, please, just step out already."

After seven seconds, she emerged from her hiding place with a sheepish smile, her head lowered in shame. "Um, how could you tell?"

I nodded to Komachi. "I've got a detective drama fanatic here."

"I prefer the term 'fan', thank you."

"You say that, but 'fan' carries a similar connotation with 'fan'atic, wouldn't you agree?"

"Con the nation? Are you some sort of anachrist, Onni-chan?"

"Connotation not con the nation, and why am I a religious figure now? What in the world is an anachrist?"

"You know, like a person who likes to rebel against the government."

"You mean anarchist? You know what, I don't care anymore. You have a smart phone with a dictionary app so use that." I looked at Yuigahama, who was watching us with interest. "So, Yuigahama-san, why are you following us around?"

She rubbed the back of her head and laughed uneasily. "Well, how do I say this? I've been meaning to talk to you but I never got the chance. I even skipped P.E. class to follow you here."

"You skipped P.E. just to talk? What could you possibly want to talk about?"

She raised her head and looked at me with upturned eyes.

"I think you already know…"

"No, I don't."

Her cheeks were flushed pink and her eyes were unfocused. There were Sakura leaves spiraling above us and one of the petals landed on her hair.

"Geez, don't make me say it…"

When did I raise a flag with this girl?! I thought.

"W-What are you talking about?"

"You know, about the accident. I want to talk about that," she said.

"Ah, of course. That's what it was," I said.

"Huh? What do you think I meant?"

"Nothing." I looked away.

She titled her head and the petal fell on the ground. "I don't get you."

I felt a nudge on my back. I peered behind my shoulder and saw Komachi winking at me. "Ah, Onii-chan, I forgot about that limited time, special sale they're having at the market. I have to hurry before it's over so go on ahead without me!"

She ran off without waiting for a reply. "Good luck Onii-chan," she called out.

"Why'd your sister run off like that?"

"You heard her, limited sale."

"Oh, my mom texted me earlier about it, too. She said she's going there to buy some cucumber and broccoli for my bento since she thinks I'm not getting enough greens."

"I see."

She looked down at her skirt and smoothed a wrinkled part with her pointer finger. "So, how about it, are you free to talk?"

"Well…"

"Do you…not want to talk?"

I classified airheads as annoying and troublesome, but generally harmless individuals. However, you couldn't help but trust an airhead because they were too easy to read. They were too honest.

"Um, are you okay? You've kind of been staring at me for a while now." She felt around her face. "Urk, I thought I took care of that zit this morning. Ah, please ignore I said that!"

"Where?" I said.

"It was around my chin…"

"I meant, where do you want to talk, unless you intend to talk here in the middle of the road?"

She looked at our surroundings and then waved her hands in front of her. "No, no. Let's go somewhere else. If you're okay with it, how about we go to a coffee shop? It's my treat."

If there was anything you wanted from Hikigaya Hachiman, all you needed to do was offer him free food.

"You gave me coffee earlier though," I said.

"Then order some cake or something, geez, Hikki."

"Hikki?"

She shrieked and covered her mouth with her hands. "No, it's just…I was thinking about…you see I made nicknames for some of my friends in middle school, and I just…you know that moment when you're in the shower and you just start thinking about random things, well I started wondering what sort of nickname you'd have—you know where I'm going with this?"

"No, I don't."

"Just imagine it."

"What, the shower thing?"

"Yes, imagine me taking a shower!"

Behind Yuigahama was an old lady who dropped her grocery bags after hearing that declaration.

"Kids these days," the old lady said. "Keep your hormones under control, why don't ya?"

We helped her with the groceries and Yuigahama offered to walk her home and help her carry the goods, but she waved off the offer with her wrinkled hands. "Nah, I wouldn't want to interrupt your fun."

"N-No, it's not like that," Yuigahama said.

"Yeah, yeah. Just make sure to use protection at least, okay young lady?"

"I'm telling you…"

"Save the excuses for your parents."

We bowed to the old lady as she walked away. Yuigahama was in a borderline seiza. It was somewhat refreshing seeing someone other than me commit social suicide. Schadenfreude was the ultimate pleasure for loners.

"That was the most embarrassing moment of my whole life."

Welcome to my world, I thought.

…

The café was one of those trendy places high school girls gathered to afterschool. You'd never see guys coming there alone. It was a girl's sanctuary and you'd better stay out unless you were invited.

I had my ticket to this holy place in the form of Yuigahama and I took full advantage of the rare opportunity, taking in as much detail and sensory data that my curious male mind could handle. I took in the sweet and smoky smell of tea and the bitter, wooden smell of coffee. The mix of fragrances energized me after one whiff of it.

I had never seen so many girls condensed in one area. My heart rate spiked and my sweat glands activated. I felt unwelcome there. They stared at me with confusion, some with unbridled disgust, and I felt their eyes on me. I even overheard one girl saying to her friend, "What's that guy doing here? Gross."

They averted their looks only after Yuigahama grabbed me by the wrist and pulled me to an open table. "Stop spacing out, let's go," she said.

I followed after her as the waitress led us to our seat. I looked back and saw that my presence was accepted, or I guess the appropriate word would be 'tolerated', by the female population after they saw me with a female escort.

For the sake of propriety, I pulled Yuigahama's chair as she was about to sit. She stared at me for a minute, smiled, took the seat, and muttered, "Thanks."

"You're welcome," I muttered back, and took the seat across from her.

The waitress came over and handed us our menus. "Raise your hand when you're ready to order." Then she attended to another table with a slight skip in her step, frilly apron skittering along with the dainty motion.

I examined the menu. "Hmm, what should I order, I wonder?" I flipped through the pages. "Hot beverages, cold beverages, cold desserts, hot desserts…these are all sweets, albeit with varying temperatures, but sweets nonetheless!"

Scrolling through her own menu, or more like burying her face in it, Yuigahama said, with her eyes fixated on the pages, "What did you expect from a place like this?" She licked her upper lip. "Yum! This lemon meringue pie looks tasty."

"I'm craving something savoury."

"Then order meat pie."

"Komachi is making dinner tonight so I don't want anything too heavy."

"Then order the croissant."

"I don't like croissants."

"Why?"

"I just don't."

She brought the menu down and glanced at me, "Just order something to drink then." She brought it up again.

I flipped through my menu absentmindedly and then I said, "I'm not thirsty though."

"Geez, I can't wait anymore," she said, and raised her hand. "Excuse me, we're ready!"

I hurriedly flipped through my menu as the waitress walked over with that bounce in her step. She stood by our table with a professionally pleasant smile.

"Hello, are you ready to order?"

"Yup! I'll have a cup of black tea with a dollop of cream. And get me a slice of strawberry shortcake, too."

The waitress pencilled down the order in her notepad. "Understood. And you, sir?"

The menu shook in my hands. "A-Ah, I want a, uh," I racked my brain and the first thought to come to mind was, "a croissant…"

Ah, stupid Hachiman, I thought, why are you panicking and why'd you say that you wanted a croissant?

"A croissant? Sure, and what else?"

"Uh, um, I…" I glanced at the waitress, the menu, at Yuigahama, and then back to the menu. "Um, well…"

"Sir?"

I was about to choose some random item to get it over with when Yuigahama said, "Hey, waitress, can you cancel his order for croissant and get him some normal green tea instead? He's on a diet, you see, and he's trying to cheat now. Bad, Hikigaya-kun, bad!"

The waitress smiled. "Very well then." She collected our menus. "I'll be back with your food ma'am. And with your beverage, sir."

I let out a breath when the waitress was out of hearing distance.

Yuigahama stared at me expectantly, but when I remained silent, she looked down at her finger nails and examined them with clearly feigned interest.

After a while, I said, "Well, you know how you blurt out the first thing that comes to mind when you're panicking?"

"But why would you panic, though?"

"Um…"

"Hey," she brought out her cellphone, "have you heard of this cool new app?"

At first I was surprised at the sudden shift in subject matter but she sent me a look with her eyes that made me realize her intentions.

"Oh, no, I haven't heard of that one yet."

"It's cool, you should get it."

"Okay, I will."

It was at that moment when I realized, that Yuigahama Yui was more than an airhead.

She was much more dangerous. She was a nice girl.

…

In the end we never had a chance to talk about the accident. A café was obviously not fit for serious conversation, nor was any public location for that matter. It was a faulty decision on Yuigahama's part.

"Geez, I already admitted my fault, you don't have to keep bringing it up," she said, while kicking a pebble that she had been kicking for the last two minutes.

We were walking aimlessly in the market place, the same one Komachi presumably went to, was busier than ever. Housewives came in droves to do some last minute dinner shopping, some students as well, probably on an errand from their parents, but they were pushed to the back of the line by the latter demographic, who had the advantage in numbers, experience, and drive.

Once we made it out of the market district, Yuigahama, who ate eight slices of cake back in the café, rubbed her tummy and said, "Those street foods looked so good. Too bad I'm so full already."

"You should have stopped after the fifth slice, to be honest."

"I couldn't help it. They were too good." Her eyes widened. "What if I get fat?"

I looked at her body. She had a small chest (at the time) and a slim figure.

She crossed her arms over her chest. "W-What are you looking at?"

"Nothing."

We reached a crosswalk and I was about to cross. Yuigahama grabbed me by the shirt sleeve and said, "Wait." I stopped, turned around, and saw the sun setting in the horizon. Yuigahama overlapped with the sun and I stood in her shadow and light streaked the contours of her shape, and she smiled and her smile was bright.

"My home is that way so I should go now," she said.

I nodded. "Okay. I go this way." I pointed to the crosswalk.

"So I guess this is a good time to split."

"Yeah."

"You know, I was a bit scared of you at first, but you're surprisingly friendly," she said.

I realized that I had been talking naturally to a real girl for the past hour or so.

"Y-Yeah, I suppose."

"Geez, why are you nervous now all of a sudden?" She laughed, and looked down. "Hm, when we go to school tomorrow, I wonder if we can talk like this too," she trailed off, "ah, never mind. I guess that's impossible."

"What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean."

I was about to respond when Yuigahama's arm shot over my shoulder, just missing my ear. "Wait, that car, isn't that…?"

I followed her finger and saw a familiar looking limousine stopping at a red light. A spike of pain ran along my back when I saw it.

Yuigahama ran towards it and after a few seconds of consideration I followed.

When we drew nearer I noticed that the backseat windshield was lowered and inside I glimpsed a girl with long black hair and eyes which focused not on one thing but multiple things in one instance. A paroxysm of wind dispersed her hair, concealing her eyes.

The red light turned green and with a burst of acceleration, the car disappeared into the horizon, swallowed up by the sunset.

* * *

 **Chapter 3: END**

 **Regardless of their wishes, the curtain falls abruptly along with the setting sun.**

* * *

 _A/N_

Hey guys, thanks for reading this week's update. It's been a long week for me but I'm glad I managed to get this one done within my self imposed deadline.

Thanks for all the reviews for the last chapter. I really do take them seriously and I edit and re-work my chapters according to your comments. I know this benefits new readers more than my current ones, but your advice influences my future work as well.

I know most of you won't re-read the edits so I'll just list them out here since the changes are kind of major, well not really, but it might be for some of you.

For the Hayama scene, I made Hayama's insinuations, which were more like full out declarations with how affront they were, much more subtle as per the advice of at least a couple of you.

I also revised Miura's speech about kingdom hierarchy and all that. As someone mentioned in their review, it had chuunibyou undertones and fit a character like Zaimozuka more than Miura. The intention of the speech is the same, but expressed in a minimized way, taking out the kingdom analogy and replacing it with something tamer.

Okay, enough of that. Once again, thanks for reading and let me know what you think of this chapter!


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